AUSTIN -- The Texas Supreme Court has postponed further court action on a class action lawsuit alleging long-term noxious chemical exposure by almost 2,000 plaintiffs.

The contentious 5-4 ruling last Friday In re Allied Chemical Corp. et al (docket# 04-1023) allowing a writ of mandamus will now give the 30 defendants in the Hidalgo County case more time to prepare. The plaintiffs claim exposure to chemical fumes over many decades.

Almost 17 months after first hearing the case, the Supreme Court ruled that the trial court should not have set any cases for trial before defendants' questions on linking chemicals with plaintiffs' injuries had been answered. Defendants moved for discovery several times unsuccessfully, the court found.

"We have repeatedly granted mandamus in mass toxic tort cases when plaintiffs have refused to produce basic information," wrote Justice Scott Brister for the majority.

"Plaintiffs bear the burden of pleading and proving how they were injured and by whom," he added. "They cannot simply file suit against everyone in the vicinity and demand that the defendants prove otherwise."

But the minority dissenting opinion contended that the plaintiffs have in fact provided supplementary information that allows for discovery. It includes expert witnesses prepared to testify that injuries are linked to exposure.

"While I agree that ... causation-related discovery must not be delayed, I disagree that this case presents the opportunity for us to create special rules for such cases," wrote Chief Justice Wallace B. Jefferson for dissenting Justices O'Neill, Wainwright and Johnson.

The Supreme Court ordered the trial court not to set another trial in the suit "until the defendants have a reasonable opportunity to prepare for trial after learning who will connect their products to plaintiffs' injuries."

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